Mechanisms for compensating for battery pack failure in powered surgical instruments

ABSTRACT

A surgical instrument has a staple cartridge housing a plurality of staples and an anvil configured to capture tissue therebetween. The surgical instrument also has a firing assembly configured to deploy the plurality of staples into the captured tissue during a firing sequence, and a handle that includes an electric motor operably coupled to the firing assembly, wherein the electric motor is configured to motivate the firing assembly to deploy the plurality of staples into the captured tissue during the firing sequence, and a power pack. The power pack includes rechargeable battery cells configured to power the electric motor, at least one battery-cell health indicator, and an electronic control circuit configured to assess whether a subset of rechargeable battery cells is damaged during the firing sequence based on at least one measurement performed by the at least one battery-cell health indicator.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application claiming priority under35 U.S.C. § 120 to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/362,172, entitledMECHANISMS FOR COMPENSATING FOR BATTERY PACK FAILURE IN POWERED SURGICALINSTRUMENTS, filed Jun. 29, 2021, now U.S. Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2021/0393261, which is a continuation applicationclaiming priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 to U.S. patent application Ser.No. 16/416,653, titled MECHANISMS FOR COMPENSATING FOR BATTERY PACKFAILURE IN POWERED SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS, filed May 20, 2019, whichissued on Jul. 13, 2021 as U.S. Pat. No. 11,058,422, which is acontinuation application claiming priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 to U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/984,488, titled MECHANISMS FORCOMPENSATING FOR BATTERY PACK FAILURE IN POWERED SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS,filed Dec. 30, 2015, which issued on May 21, 2019 as U.S. Pat. No.10,292,704, the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated byreference herein.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/984,488, titled MECHANISMS FORCOMPENSATING FOR BATTERY PACK FAILURE IN POWERED SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS,filed Dec. 30, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,292,704, is also related tocommonly-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/984,525, titledMECHANISMS FOR COMPENSATING FOR DRIVETRAIN FAILURE IN POWERED SURGICALINSTRUMENTS, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,368,865 and U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/984,552, titled SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS WITH SEPARABLE MOTORSAND MOTOR CONTROL CIRCUITS, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,265,068, each of whichis incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to surgical instruments and, in variousarrangements, to surgical stapling and cutting instruments and staplecartridges for use therewith that are designed to staple and cut tissue.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features of the various aspects are set forth with particularity inthe appended claims. The various aspects, however, both as toorganization and methods of operation, together with advantages thereof,may best be understood by reference to the following description, takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings as follows:

FIG. 1 is a perspective, disassembled view of an electromechanicalsurgical system including a surgical instrument, an adapter, and an endeffector, according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the surgical instrument of FIG. 1,according to at least one aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is perspective, exploded view of the surgical instrument of FIG.1, according to at least one aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a battery of the surgical instrument ofFIG. 1, according to at least one aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a top, partially-disassembled view of the surgical instrumentof FIG. 1, according to at least one aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a front, perspective view of the surgical instrument of FIG. 1with the adapter separated therefrom, according to at least one aspectof the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a side, cross-sectional view of the surgical instrument ofFIG. 1, as taken through 7-7 of FIG. 2, according to at least one aspectof the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a top, cross-sectional view of the surgical instrument of FIG.1, as taken through 8-8 of FIG. 2, according to at least one aspect ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a perspective, exploded view of a end effector of FIG. 1,according to at least one aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10A is a top view of a locking member according to at least oneaspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10B is a perspective view of the locking member of FIG. 10Aaccording to at least one aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of the surgical instrument of FIG. 1according to at least one aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view, with parts separated, of anelectromechanical surgical system in accordance with at least one aspectof the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a rear, perspective view of a shaft assembly and a poweredsurgical instrument, of the electromechanical surgical system of FIG.12, illustrating a connection therebetween, according to at least oneaspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view, with parts separated, of the shaftassembly of FIG. 13, according to at least one aspect of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view, with parts separated of a transmissionhousing of the shaft assembly of FIG. 13, according to at least oneaspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a first gear train system that issupported in the transmission housing of FIG. 15, according to at leastone aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a second gear train system that issupported in the transmission housing of FIG. 15, according to at leastone aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a third drive shaft that is supportedin the transmission housing of FIG. 15, according to at least one aspectof the present disclosure;

FIG. 19A is a partial perspective view of a surgical instrument,according to at least one aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 19B is a perspective view of a power pack of the surgicalinstrument of FIG. 19A, according to at least one aspect of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 20 is a logic diagram outlining a method of assessing the health ofthe power pack of FIG. 19B and responding to a detected drop inpower-pack health, according to at least one aspect of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 21 is a logic diagram of a module of the surgical instrument ofFIG. 19A, according to at least one aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 22 is a logic diagram of steps of the method of FIG. 20, accordingto at least one aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 23 is a logic diagram of steps of the method of FIG. 20, accordingto least one aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 24 is a logic diagram of steps of the method of FIG. 20, accordingto at least one aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 25 is a circuit diagram of a module of the surgical instrument ofFIG. 19A, according to at least one aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 26 is a Wheatstone bridge circuit, according to at least one aspectof the present disclosure;

FIG. 27 is an electronic control circuit coupled to a plurality ofbattery cells arranged in series, according to at least one aspect ofthe present disclosure; and

FIG. 28 is a logic diagram for assessing the health status of a powerpack based on the sensor readings, according to at least one aspect ofthe present disclosure.

DESCRIPTION

Before explaining various forms of mechanisms for compensating forbattery pack failure in powered surgical instruments in detail, itshould be noted that the illustrative forms are not limited inapplication or use to the details of construction and arrangement ofparts illustrated in the accompanying drawings and description. Theillustrative forms may be implemented or incorporated in other forms,variations and modifications, and may be practiced or carried out invarious ways. Further, unless otherwise indicated, the terms andexpressions employed herein have been chosen for the purpose ofdescribing the illustrative forms for the convenience of the reader andare not for the purpose of limitation thereof.

Further, it is understood that any one or more of thefollowing-described forms, expressions of forms, examples, can becombined with any one or more of the other following-described forms,expressions of forms, and examples.

Various forms are directed to mechanisms for compensating for batterypack failure in powered surgical instruments. In one form, themechanisms for compensating for battery pack failure in powered surgicalinstruments may be configured for use in open surgical procedures, buthas applications in other types of surgery, such as laparoscopic,endoscopic, and robotic-assisted procedures.

FIGS. 1-18 depict various aspects of a surgical system that is generallydesignated as 10, and is in the form of a powered hand heldelectromechanical instrument configured for selective attachment theretoof a plurality of different end effectors that are each configured foractuation and manipulation by the powered hand held electromechanicalsurgical instrument. The aspects of FIGS. 1-18 are disclosed in U.S.Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0110453, filed Oct. 23, 2012,and titled SURGICAL INSTRUMENT WITH RAPID POST EVENT DETECTION, now U.S.Pat. No. 9,265,585, U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2013/0282052, filed Jun. 19, 2013, and titled APPARATUS FOR ENDOSCOPICPROCEDURES, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,480,492, and U.S. Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2013/0274722, filed May 10, 2013, and titled APPARATUSFOR ENDOSCOPIC PROCEDURES, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,492,146.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, a surgical instrument 100 is configured forselective connection with an adapter 200, and, in turn, adapter 200 isconfigured for selective connection with an end effector or single useloading unit or reload 300. As illustrated in FIGS. 1-3, the surgicalinstrument 100 includes a handle housing 102 having a lower housingportion 104, an intermediate housing portion 106 extending from and/orsupported on lower housing portion 104, and an upper housing portion 108extending from and/or supported on intermediate housing portion 106.Intermediate housing portion 106 and upper housing portion 108 areseparated into a distal half-section 110 a that is integrally formedwith and extending from the lower portion 104, and a proximalhalf-section 110 b connectable to distal half-section 110 a by aplurality of fasteners. When joined, distal and proximal half-sections110 a, 110 b define a handle housing 102 having a cavity 102 a thereinin which a circuit board 150 and a drive mechanism 160 is situated.

Distal and proximal half-sections 110 a, 110 b are divided along a planethat traverses a longitudinal axis “X” of upper housing portion 108, asseen in FIGS. 2 and 3. Handle housing 102 includes a gasket 112extending completely around a rim of distal half-section and/or proximalhalf-section 110 a, 110 b and being interposed between distalhalf-section 110 a and proximal half-section 110 b. Gasket 112 seals theperimeter of distal half-section 110 a and proximal half-section 110 b.Gasket 112 functions to establish an air-tight seal between distalhalf-section 110 a and proximal half-section 110 b such that circuitboard 150 and drive mechanism 160 are protected from sterilizationand/or cleaning procedures.

In this manner, the cavity 102 a of handle housing 102 is sealed alongthe perimeter of distal half-section 110 a and proximal half-section 110b yet is configured to enable easier, more efficient assembly of circuitboard 150 and a drive mechanism 160 in handle housing 102.

Intermediate housing portion 106 of handle housing 102 provides ahousing in which circuit board 150 is situated. Circuit board 150 isconfigured to control the various operations of surgical instrument 100.

Lower housing portion 104 of surgical instrument 100 defines an aperture(not shown) formed in an upper surface thereof and which is locatedbeneath or within intermediate housing portion 106. The aperture oflower housing portion 104 provides a passage through which wires 152pass to electrically interconnect electrical components (a battery 156,as illustrated in FIG. 4, a circuit board 154, as illustrated in FIG. 3,etc.) situated in lower housing portion 104 with electrical components(circuit board 150, drive mechanism 160, etc.) situated in intermediatehousing portion 106 and/or upper housing portion 108.

Handle housing 102 includes a gasket 103 disposed within the aperture oflower housing portion 104 (not shown) thereby plugging or sealing theaperture of lower housing portion 104 while allowing wires 152 to passtherethrough. Gasket 103 functions to establish an air-tight sealbetween lower housing portion 106 and intermediate housing portion 108such that circuit board 150 and drive mechanism 160 are protected fromsterilization and/or cleaning procedures.

As shown, lower housing portion 104 of handle housing 102 provides ahousing in which a rechargeable battery 156, is removably situated.Battery 156 is configured to supply power to any of the electricalcomponents of surgical instrument 100. Lower housing portion 104 definesa cavity (not shown) into which battery 156 is inserted. Lower housingportion 104 includes a door 105 pivotally connected thereto for closingcavity of lower housing portion 104 and retaining battery 156 therein.

With reference to FIGS. 3 and 5, distal half-section 110 a of upperhousing portion 108 defines a nose or connecting portion 108 a. A nosecone 114 is supported on nose portion 108 a of upper housing portion108. Nose cone 114 is fabricated from a transparent material. A feedbackindicator such as, for example, an illumination member 116 is disposedwithin nose cone 114 such that illumination member 116 is visibletherethrough. Illumination member 116 is may be a light emitting diodeprinted circuit board (LED PCB). Illumination member 116 is configuredto illuminate multiple colors with a specific color pattern beingassociated with a unique discrete event.

Upper housing portion 108 of handle housing 102 provides a housing inwhich drive mechanism 160 is situated. As illustrated in FIG. 5, drivemechanism 160 is configured to drive shafts and/or gear components inorder to perform the various operations of surgical instrument 100. Inparticular, drive mechanism 160 is configured to drive shafts and/orgear components in order to selectively move tool assembly 304 of endeffector 300 (see FIGS. 1 and 9) relative to proximal body portion 302of end effector 300, to rotate end effector 300 about a longitudinalaxis “X” (see FIG. 2) relative to handle housing 102, to move anvilassembly 306 relative to cartridge assembly 308 of end effector 300,and/or to fire a stapling and cutting cartridge within cartridgeassembly 308 of end effector 300.

The drive mechanism 160 includes a selector gearbox assembly 162 that islocated immediately proximal relative to adapter 200. Proximal to theselector gearbox assembly 162 is a function selection module 163 havinga first motor 164 that functions to selectively move gear elementswithin the selector gearbox assembly 162 into engagement with an inputdrive component 165 having a second motor 166.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1-4, and as mentioned above, distal half-section110 a of upper housing portion 108 defines a connecting portion 108 aconfigured to accept a corresponding drive coupling assembly 210 ofadapter 200.

As illustrated in FIGS. 6-8, connecting portion 108 a of surgicalinstrument 100 has a cylindrical recess 108 b that receives a drivecoupling assembly 210 of adapter 200 when adapter 200 is mated tosurgical instrument 100. Connecting portion 108 a houses three rotatabledrive connectors 118, 120, 122.

When adapter 200 is mated to surgical instrument 100, each of rotatabledrive connectors 118, 120, 122 of surgical instrument 100 couples with acorresponding rotatable connector sleeve 218, 220, 222 of adapter 200 asshown in FIG. 6. In this regard, the interface between correspondingfirst drive connector 118 and first connector sleeve 218, the interfacebetween corresponding second drive connector 120 and second connectorsleeve 220, and the interface between corresponding third driveconnector 122 and third connector sleeve 222 are keyed such thatrotation of each of drive connectors 118, 120, 122 of surgicalinstrument 100 causes a corresponding rotation of the correspondingconnector sleeve 218, 220, 222 of adapter 200.

The mating of drive connectors 118, 120, 122 of surgical instrument 100with connector sleeves 218, 220, 222 of adapter 200 allows rotationalforces to be independently transmitted via each of the three respectiveconnector interfaces. The drive connectors 118, 120, 122 of surgicalinstrument 100 are configured to be independently rotated by drivemechanism 160. In this regard, the function selection module 163 ofdrive mechanism 160 selects which drive connector or connectors 118,120, 122 of surgical instrument 100 is to be driven by the input drivecomponent 165 of drive mechanism 160.

Since each of drive connectors 118, 120, 122 of surgical instrument 100has a keyed and/or substantially non-rotatable interface with respectiveconnector sleeves 218, 220, 222 of adapter 200, when adapter 200 iscoupled to surgical instrument 100, rotational force(s) are selectivelytransferred from drive mechanism 160 of surgical instrument 100 toadapter 200.

The selective rotation of drive connector(s) 118, 120 and/or 122 ofsurgical instrument 100 allows surgical instrument 100 to selectivelyactuate different functions of end effector 300. Selective andindependent rotation of first drive connector 118 of surgical instrument100 corresponds to the selective and independent opening and closing oftool assembly 304 of end effector 300, and driving of a stapling/cuttingcomponent of tool assembly 304 of end effector 300. Also, the selectiveand independent rotation of second drive connector 120 of surgicalinstrument 100 corresponds to the selective and independent articulationof tool assembly 304 of end effector 300 transverse to longitudinal axis“X” (see FIG. 2). Additionally, the selective and independent rotationof third drive connector 122 of surgical instrument 100 corresponds tothe selective and independent rotation of end effector 300 aboutlongitudinal axis “X” (see FIG. 2) relative to handle housing 102 ofsurgical instrument 100.

As mentioned above and as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 8, drive mechanism160 includes a selector gearbox assembly 162; and a function selectionmodule 163, located proximal to the selector gearbox assembly 162, thatfunctions to selectively move gear elements within the selector gearboxassembly 162 into engagement with second motor 166. Thus, drivemechanism 160 selectively drives one of drive connectors 118, 120, 122of surgical instrument 100 at a given time.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1-3, handle housing 102 supports a controlassembly 107 on a distal surface or side of intermediate housing portion108. The control assembly 107 is a fully-functional mechanicalsubassembly that can be assembled and tested separately from the rest ofthe instrument 100 prior to coupling thereto.

Control assembly 107, in cooperation with intermediate housing portion108, supports a pair of finger-actuated control buttons 124, 126 and apair rocker devices 128, 130 within a housing 107 a. The control buttons124, 126 are coupled to extension shafts 125, 127 respectively. Inparticular, control assembly 107 defines an upper aperture 124 a forslidably receiving the extension shaft 125, and a lower aperture 126 afor slidably receiving the extension shaft 127.

The control assembly 107 and its components (e.g., control buttons 124,126 and rocker devices 128, 130) my be formed from low friction,self-lubricating, lubricious plastics or materials or coatings coveringthe moving components to reduce actuation forces, key component wear,elimination of galling, smooth consistent actuation, improved componentand assembly reliability and reduced clearances for a tighter fit andfeel consistency. This includes the use of plastic materials in thebushings, rocker journals, plunger bushings, spring pockets, retainingrings and slider components. Molding the components in plastic alsoprovides net-shape or mesh-shaped components with all of theseperformance attributes. Plastic components eliminate corrosion andbi-metal anodic reactions under electrolytic conditions such asautoclaving, steam sterilizations and cleaning Press fits withlubricious plastics and materials also eliminate clearances with minimalstrain or functional penalties on the components when compared tosimilar metal components.

Suitable materials for forming the components of the control assembly107 include, but are not limited to, polyamines, polyphenylene sulfides,polyphthalamides, polyphenylsulfones, polyether ketones,polytetrafluoroethylenes, and combinations thereof. These components maybe used in the presence or absence of lubricants and may also includeadditives for reduced wear and frictional forces.

Reference may be made to a U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/331,047,now U.S. Pat. No. 8,968,276, the entire contents of which areincorporated by reference herein, for a detailed discussion of theconstruction and operation of the surgical instrument 100.

The surgical instrument 100 includes a firing assembly configured todeploy or eject a plurality of staples into tissue captured by the endeffector 300. The firing assembly comprises a drive assembly 360, asillustrated in FIG. 9. The drive assembly 360 includes a flexible drivebeam 364 having a distal end which is secured to a dynamic clampingmember 365, and a proximal engagement section 368. Engagement section368 includes a stepped portion defining a shoulder 370. A proximal endof engagement section 368 includes diametrically opposed inwardlyextending fingers 372. Fingers 372 engage a hollow drive member 374 tofixedly secure drive member 374 to the proximal end of beam 364. Drivemember 374 defines a proximal porthole 376 a which receives a connectionmember of drive tube 246 (FIG. 1) of adapter 200 when end effector 300is attached to distal coupling 230 of adapter 200.

When drive assembly 360 is advanced distally within tool assembly 304,an upper beam 365 a of clamping member 365 moves within a channeldefined between anvil plate 312 and anvil cover 310 and a lower beam 365b moves over the exterior surface of carrier 316 to close tool assembly304 and fire staples therefrom.

Proximal body portion 302 of end effector 300 includes a sheath or outertube 301 enclosing an upper housing portion 301 a and a lower housingportion 301 b. The housing portions 301 a and 301 b enclose anarticulation link 366 having a hooked proximal end 366 a which extendsfrom a proximal end of end effector 300. Hooked proximal end 366 a ofarticulation link 366 engages a coupling hook (not shown) of adapter 200when end effector 300 is secured to distal housing 232 of adapter 200.When drive bar 258 of adapter 200 is advanced or retracted as describedabove, articulation link 366 of end effector 300 is advanced orretracted within end effector 300 to pivot tool assembly 304 in relationto a distal end of proximal body portion 302.

As illustrated in FIG. 9 above, cartridge assembly 308 of tool assembly304 includes a staple cartridge 305 supportable in carrier 316. Thecartridge can be permanently installed in the end effector 300 or can bearranged so as to be removable and replaceable. Staple cartridge 305defines a central longitudinal slot 305 a, and three linear rows ofstaple retention slots 305 b positioned on each side of longitudinalslot 305 a. Each of staple retention slots 305 b receives a singlestaple 307 and a portion of a staple pusher 309. During operation ofinstrument 100, drive assembly 360 abuts an actuation sled and pushesactuation sled through cartridge 305. As the actuation sled movesthrough cartridge 305, cam wedges of the actuation sled sequentiallyengage staple pushers 309 to move staple pushers 309 vertically withinstaple retention slots 305 b and sequentially eject staples 307therefrom for formation against anvil plate 312.

The hollow drive member 374 includes a lockout mechanism 373 thatprevents a firing of previously fired end effectors 300. The lockoutmechanism 373 includes a locking member 371 pivotally coupled within adistal porthole 376 b via a pin 377, such that locking member 371 ispivotal about pin 377 relative to drive member 374.

With reference to FIGS. 10A and 10B, locking member 371 defines achannel 379 formed between elongate glides 381 and 383. Web 385 joins aportion of the upper surfaces of glides 381 and 383. Web 385 isconfigured and dimensioned to fit within the porthole 376 b of the drivemember 374. Horizontal ledges 389 and 391 extend from glides 381 and 383respectively. As best shown in FIG. 9, a spring 393 is disposed withinthe drive member 374 and engages horizontal ledge 389 and/or horizontalledge 391 to bias locking member 371 downward.

In operation, the locking member 371 is initially disposed in itspre-fired position at the proximal end of the housing portions 301 a and301 b with horizontal ledge 389 and 391 resting on top of projections303 a, 303 b formed in the sidewalls of housing portion 301 b. In thisposition, locking member 371 is held up and out of alignment with aprojection 303 c formed in the bottom surface of housing portion 301 b,distal of the projection 303 a, 303 b, and web 385 is in longitudinaljuxtaposition with shoulder 370 defined in drive beam 364. Thisconfiguration permits the anvil 306 to be opened and repositioned ontothe tissue to be stapled until the surgeon is satisfied with theposition without activating locking member 371 to disable the disposableend effector 300.

Upon distal movement of the drive beam 364 by the drive tube 246,locking member 371 rides off of projections 303 a, 303 b and is biasedinto engagement with housing portion 301 b by the spring 393, distal ofprojection 303 c. Locking member 371 remains in this configurationthroughout firing of the apparatus.

Upon retraction of the drive beam 364, after at least a partial firing,locking member 371 passes under projections 303 a, 303 b and rides overprojection 303 c of housing portion 301 b until the distal-most portionof locking member 371 is proximal to projection 303 c. The spring 393biases locking member 371 into juxtaposed alignment with projection 303c, effectively disabling the disposable end effector. If an attempt ismade to reactuate the apparatus, loaded with the existing end effector300, the locking member 371 will abut projection 303 c of housingportion 301 b and will inhibit distal movement of the drive beam 364.

Another aspect of the instrument 100 is shown in FIG. 11. The instrument100 includes the motor 164. The motor 164 may be any electrical motorconfigured to actuate one or more drives (e.g., rotatable driveconnectors 118, 120, 122 of FIG. 6). The motor 164 is coupled to thebattery 156, which may be a DC battery (e.g., rechargeable lead-based,nickel-based, lithium-ion based, battery etc.), an AC/DC transformer, orany other power source suitable for providing electrical energy to themotor 164.

The battery 156 and the motor 164 are coupled to a motor driver circuit404 disposed on the circuit board 154 which controls the operation ofthe motor 164 including the flow of electrical energy from the battery156 to the motor 164. The driver circuit 404 includes a plurality ofsensors 408 a, 408 b, . . . 408 n configured to measure operationalstates of the motor 164 and the battery 156. The sensors 408 a-n mayinclude voltage sensors, current sensors, temperature sensors, pressuresensors, telemetry sensors, optical sensors, and combinations thereof.The sensors 408 a-408 n may measure voltage, current, and otherelectrical properties of the electrical energy supplied by the battery156. The sensors 408 a-408 n may also measure rotational speed asrevolutions per minute (RPM), torque, temperature, current draw, andother operational properties of the motor 164. RPM may be determined bymeasuring the rotation of the motor 164. Position of various driveshafts (e.g., rotatable drive connectors 118, 120, 122 of FIG. 6) may bedetermined by using various linear sensors disposed in or in proximityto the shafts or extrapolated from the RPM measurements. In aspects,torque may be calculated based on the regulated current draw of themotor 164 at a constant RPM. In further aspects, the driver circuit 404and/or the controller 406 may measure time and process theabove-described values as a function thereof, including integrationand/or differentiation, e.g., to determine rate of change of themeasured values and the like.

The driver circuit 404 is also coupled to a controller 406, which may beany suitable logic control circuit adapted to perform the calculationsand/or operate according to a set of instructions. The controller 406may include a central processing unit operably connected to a memorywhich may include transitory type memory (e.g., RAM) and/ornon-transitory type memory (e.g., flash media, disk media, etc.). Thecontroller 406 includes a plurality of inputs and outputs forinterfacing with the driver circuit 404. In particular, the controller406 receives measured sensor signals from the driver circuit 404regarding operational status of the motor 164 and the battery 156 and,in turn, outputs control signals to the driver circuit 404 to controlthe operation of the motor 164 based on the sensor readings and specificalgorithm instructions. The controller 406 is also configured to accepta plurality of user inputs from a user interface (e.g., switches,buttons, touch screen, etc. of the control assembly 107 coupled to thecontroller 406). A removable memory card or chip may be provided, ordata can be downloaded wirelessly.

Referring to FIG. 12-18, a surgical system 10′ is depicted. The surgicalsystem 10′ is similar in many respects to the surgical system 10. Forexample, the surgical system 10′ includes the surgical instrument 100.Upper housing portion 108 of instrument housing 102 defines a nose orconnecting portion 108 a configured to accept a corresponding shaftcoupling assembly 514 of a transmission housing 512 of a shaft assembly500 that is similar in many respects to the shaft assembly 200.

The shaft assembly 500 has a force transmitting assembly forinterconnecting the at least one drive member of the surgical instrumentto at least one rotation receiving member of the end effector. The forcetransmitting assembly has a first end that is connectable to the atleast one rotatable drive member and a second end that is connectable tothe at least one rotation receiving member of the end effector. Whenshaft assembly 500 is mated to surgical instrument 100, each ofrotatable drive members or connectors 118, 120, 122 of surgicalinstrument 100 couples with a corresponding rotatable connector sleeve518, 520, 522 of shaft assembly 500 (see FIGS. 13 and 15). In thisregard, the interface between corresponding first drive member orconnector 118 and first connector sleeve 518, the interface betweencorresponding second drive member or connector 120 and second connectorsleeve 520, and the interface between corresponding third drive memberor connector 122 and third connector sleeve 522 are keyed such thatrotation of each of drive members or connectors 118, 120, 122 ofsurgical instrument 100 causes a corresponding rotation of thecorresponding connector sleeve 518, 520, 522 of shaft assembly 500.

The selective rotation of drive member(s) or connector(s) 118, 120and/or 122 of surgical instrument 100 allows surgical instrument 100 toselectively actuate different functions of an end effector 400.

Referring to FIGS. 12 and 14, the shaft assembly 500 includes anelongate, substantially rigid, outer tubular body 510 having a proximalend 510 a and a distal end 510 b and a transmission housing 212connected to proximal end 210 a of tubular body 510 and being configuredfor selective connection to surgical instrument 100. In addition, theshaft assembly 500 further includes an articulating neck assembly 530connected to distal end 510 b of elongate body portion 510.

Transmission housing 512 is configured to house a pair of gear trainsystems therein for varying a speed/force of rotation (e.g., increase ordecrease) of first, second and/or third rotatable drive members orconnectors 118, 120, and/or 122 of surgical instrument 100 beforetransmission of such rotational speed/force to the end effector 501. Asseen in FIG. 15, transmission housing 512 and shaft coupling assembly514 rotatably support a first proximal or input drive shaft 524 a, asecond proximal or input drive shaft 526 a, and a third drive shaft 528.

Shaft drive coupling assembly 514 includes a first, a second and a thirdbiasing member 518 a, 520 a and 522 a disposed distally of respectivefirst, second and third connector sleeves 518, 520, 522. Each of biasingmembers 518 a, 520 a and 522 a is disposed about respective firstproximal drive shaft 524 a, second proximal drive shaft 526 a, and thirddrive shaft 228. Biasing members 518 a, 520 a and 522 a act onrespective connector sleeves 518, 520 and 522 to help maintain connectorsleeves 218, 220 and 222 engaged with the distal end of respective driverotatable drive members or connectors 118, 120, 122 of surgicalinstrument 100 when shaft assembly 500 is connected to surgicalinstrument 100.

Shaft assembly 500 includes a first and a second gear train system 540,550, respectively, disposed within transmission housing 512 and tubularbody 510, and adjacent coupling assembly 514. As mentioned above, eachgear train system 540, 550 is configured and adapted to vary aspeed/force of rotation (e.g., increase or decrease) of first and secondrotatable drive connectors 118 and 120 of surgical instrument 100 beforetransmission of such rotational speed/force to end effector 501.

As illustrated in FIGS. 15 and 16, first gear train system 540 includesfirst input drive shaft 524 a, and a first input drive shaft spur gear542 a keyed to first input drive shaft 524 a. First gear train system540 also includes a first transmission shaft 544 rotatably supported intransmission housing 512, a first input transmission spur gear 544 akeyed to first transmission shaft 544 and engaged with first input driveshaft spur gear 542 a, and a first output transmission spur gear 544 bkeyed to first transmission shaft 544. First gear train system 540further includes a first output drive shaft 546 a rotatably supported intransmission housing 512 and tubular body 510, and a first output driveshaft spur gear 546 b keyed to first output drive shaft 546 a andengaged with first output transmission spur gear 544 b.

In at least one instance, the first input drive shaft spur gear 542 aincludes 10 teeth; first input transmission spur gear 544 a includes 18teeth; first output transmission spur gear 544 b includes 13 teeth; andfirst output drive shaft spur gear 546 b includes 15 teeth. As soconfigured, an input rotation of first input drive shaft 524 a isconverted to an output rotation of first output drive shaft 546 a by aratio of 1:2.08.

In operation, as first input drive shaft spur gear 542 a is rotated, dueto a rotation of first connector sleeve 558 and first input drive shaft524 a, as a result of the rotation of the first respective driveconnector 118 of surgical instrument 100, first input drive shaft spurgear 542 a engages first input transmission spur gear 544 a causingfirst input transmission spur gear 544 a to rotate. As first inputtransmission spur gear 544 a rotates, first transmission shaft 544 isrotated and thus causes first output drive shaft spur gear 546 b, thatis keyed to first transmission shaft 544, to rotate. As first outputdrive shaft spur gear 546 b rotates, since first output drive shaft spurgear 546 b is engaged therewith, first output drive shaft spur gear 546b is also rotated. As first output drive shaft spur gear 546 b rotates,since first output drive shaft spur gear 546 b is keyed to first outputdrive shaft 546 a, first output drive shaft 546 a is rotated.

The shaft assembly 500, including the first gear system 540, functionsto transmit operative forces from surgical instrument 100 to endeffector 501 in order to operate, actuate and/or fire end effector 501.

As illustrated in FIGS. 15 and 17, second gear train system 550 includessecond input drive shaft 526 a, and a second input drive shaft spur gear552 a keyed to second input drive shaft 526 a. Second gear train system550 also includes a first transmission shaft 554 rotatably supported intransmission housing 512, a first input transmission spur gear 554 akeyed to first transmission shaft 554 and engaged with second inputdrive shaft spur gear 552 a, and a first output transmission spur gear554 b keyed to first transmission shaft 554.

Second gear train system 550 further includes a second transmissionshaft 556 rotatably supported in transmission housing 512, a secondinput transmission spur gear 556 a keyed to second transmission shaft556 and engaged with first output transmission spur gear 554 b that iskeyed to first transmission shaft 554, and a second output transmissionspur gear 556 b keyed to second transmission shaft 556.

Second gear train system 550 additionally includes a second output driveshaft 558 a rotatably supported in transmission housing 512 and tubularbody 510, and a second output drive shaft spur gear 558 b keyed tosecond output drive shaft 558 a and engaged with second outputtransmission spur gear 556 b.

In at least one instance, the second input drive shaft spur gear 552 aincludes 10 teeth; first input transmission spur gear 554 a includes 20teeth; first output transmission spur gear 554 b includes 10 teeth;second input transmission spur gear 556 a includes 20 teeth; secondoutput transmission spur gear 556 b includes 10 teeth; and second outputdrive shaft spur gear 558 b includes 15 teeth. As so configured, aninput rotation of second input drive shaft 526 a is converted to anoutput rotation of second output drive shaft 558 a by a ratio of 1:6.

In operation, as second input drive shaft spur gear 552 a is rotated,due to a rotation of second connector sleeve 560 and second input driveshaft 526 a, as a result of the rotation of the second respective driveconnector 120 of surgical instrument 100, second input drive shaft spurgear 552 a engages first input transmission spur gear 554 a causingfirst input transmission spur gear 554 a to rotate. As first inputtransmission spur gear 554 a rotates, first transmission shaft 554 isrotated and thus causes first output transmission spur gear 554 b, thatis keyed to first transmission shaft 554, to rotate. As first outputtransmission spur gear 554 b rotates, since second input transmissionspur gear 556 a is engaged therewith, second input transmission spurgear 556 a is also rotated. As second input transmission spur gear 556 arotates, second transmission shaft 256 is rotated and thus causes secondoutput transmission spur gear 256 b, that is keyed to secondtransmission shaft 556, to rotate. As second output transmission spurgear 556 b rotates, since second output drive shaft spur gear 558 b isengaged therewith, second output drive shaft spur gear 558 b is rotated.As second output drive shaft spur gear 558 b rotates, since secondoutput drive shaft spur gear 558 b is keyed to second output drive shaft558 a, second output drive shaft 558 a is rotated.

The shaft assembly 500, including second gear train system 550,functions to transmit operative forces from surgical instrument 100 toend effector 501 in order rotate shaft assembly 500 and/or end effector501 relative to surgical instrument 100.

As illustrated in FIGS. 15 and 18, the transmission housing 512 andshaft coupling assembly 514 rotatably support a third drive shaft 528.Third drive shaft 528 includes a proximal end 528 a configured tosupport third connector sleeve 522, and a distal end 528 b extending toand operatively connected to an articulation assembly 570.

As illustrated in FIG. 14, elongate, outer tubular body 510 of shaftassembly 500 includes a first half section 511 a and a second halfsection 511 b defining at least three longitudinally extending channelsthrough outer tubular body 510 when half sections 511 a, 511 b are matedwith one another. The channels are configured and dimensioned torotatably receive and support first output drive shaft 546 a, secondoutput drive shaft 558 a, and third drive shaft 528 as first outputdrive shaft 546 a, second output drive shaft 558 a, and third driveshaft 528 extend from transmission housing 512 to articulating neckassembly 530. Each of first output drive shaft 546 a, second outputdrive shaft 558 a, and third drive shaft 528 are elongate andsufficiently rigid to transmit rotational forces from transmissionhousing 520 to articulating neck assembly 530.

Turning to FIG. 14, the shaft assembly 500 further includes anarticulating neck assembly 530. The articulating neck assembly 530includes a proximal neck housing 532, a plurality of links 534 connectedto and extending in series from proximal neck housing 532; and a distalneck housing 536 connected to and extending from a distal-most link ofthe plurality of links 534. It is contemplated that, in any of theaspects disclosed herein, that the shaft assembly may have a single linkor pivot member for allowing the articulation of the end effector. It iscontemplated that, in any of the aspects disclosed herein, that thedistal neck housing can be incorporated with the distal most link.

The entire disclosures of:

U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0110453, filed Oct. 23,2012, and titled SURGICAL INSTRUMENT WITH RAPID POST EVENT DETECTION,now U.S. Pat. No. 9,265,585;

U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0282052, filed Jun. 19,2013, and titled APPARATUS FOR ENDOSCOPIC PROCEDURES, now U.S. Pat. No.9,480,492; and

U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0274722, filed May 10,2013, and titled APPARATUS FOR ENDOSCOPIC PROCEDURES, now U.S. Pat. No.9,492,146, are hereby incorporated by reference herein.

Referring to FIG. 19A, a surgical instrument 10 is depicted. Thesurgical instrument 10 is similar in many respects to the surgicalinstrument 100. For example, the surgical instrument 10 is configuredfor selective connection with the end effector or single use loadingunit or reload 300 via the adapter 200. Also, the surgical instrument 10includes a handle housing 102 that includes a lower housing portion 104,an intermediate housing portion 106, and an upper housing portion 108.In addition, the surgical instrument 10 includes a power pack 12 held inthe lower housing portion 104. Like the battery 156, the power pack 12is separably couplable to the surgical instrument 10. One or moreconnectors 19 can be configured to electrically couple the power pack 12to the surgical instrument 10, as illustrated in FIG. 21, when the powerpack 12 is attached to the surgical instrument 10. The connectors 19facilitate communication and power exchange between the power pack 12and the surgical instrument 10.

As illustrated in FIG. 19B, the lower housing portion 104 comprisesresilient members 17 and 18 that are configured to provide a snap-fitengagement with the intermediate housing portion 106. Other mechanismsfor attaching the lower housing portion 104 to the intermediate housingportion 106 are contemplated by the present disclosure. In the aspectillustrated in FIG. 19A, the power pack 12 can be separated from thesurgical instrument 10 by retracting or pulling the lower housingportion 104 in a direction away from the intermediate housing portion106.

Referring to FIGS. 19B and 21, the power pack 12 includes a plurality ofbattery cells (B1 . . . Bn) 14 and an electronic control circuit 16. Thebattery cells 14 are arranged in series and are electrically coupled tothe electronic control circuit 16. Other arrangements of the batterycells 14 are contemplated by the present disclosure. In the aspectillustrated in FIG. 19B, the power pack 12 includes four battery cells(B1-B4). In other aspects, as illustrated in FIG. 21, the power pack 12may include more or less than four battery cells. In various instances,the battery cells 14 are replaceable and/or rechargeable.

Referring to FIG. 20, a method 9 of monitoring the health of the powerpack 12 during a firing sequence of the surgical instrument 10 isdepicted. The method 9 includes steps for responding to a detected dropin the health of the power pack 12 below a predetermined threshold. Themethod 9 comprises a step 11 of detecting activation of the firingsequence. The method 9 further comprises a step 13 of monitoring thehealth of the power pack after detection of the activation of the firingsequence. The step of monitoring the health of the power pack 12 mayinclude monitoring one or more parameters associated with the power pack12 such as, for example, temperature, output current, and/or outputvoltage. In the event it is detected that the health of the power pack12 is partially compromised, the method 9 further comprises at least onepost detection safety and/or operational measure. For example, themethod 9 further comprises alerting a user of the surgical instrument 10and/or recording a damaged status of the compromised power pack 12.

In at least one instance, the method 9 further comprises determiningwhether the firing sequence can be completed. In the event it isdetermined that the firing sequence cannot be completed, the method 9further comprises alerting the user of the surgical instrument 10 and/orresetting the firing sequence. The step of resetting the firing sequencemay include, among other things, retracting the drive assembly 360 to anoriginal or starting position. In the event it is determined that thefiring sequence can be completed, the method 9 further comprisesalerting the user of the surgical instrument 10 to continue the firingsequence. In addition the method 9 may further comprise increasingand/or prioritizing a power output of the power pack 12 to facilitatecompletion of the firing sequence. Upon completion of the firingsequence, the method 9 may further comprise a step of deactivating thesurgical instrument 10.

The safety and/or operational measures of the method 9 can be employedin addressing a situation where the firing sequence has been started butis only partially completed due to a failure of the power pack 12. Thissituation generally yields a tissue region that is only partiallystapled and/or resected. The method 9 permits completion of the staplingand/or resection of the tissue region in the event the failure of thepower pack 12 is a partial failure.

Referring to FIG. 21, the power pack 12 may employ the electroniccontrol circuit 16 to monitor the health of the power pack 12 during afiring sequence of the surgical instrument 10 and respond to a detecteddrop in the health of the power pack 12 below a predetermined threshold.The electronic control circuit 16 may include one or more sensors (S1 .. . Sn) 15 for monitoring the health of the power pack 12. In the aspectillustrated in FIG. 27, the electronic control circuit 16 includes avoltage sensor 22, a temperature sensor 24, and a current sensor 26which cooperate to monitor the health status of the power pack 12, asdescribed in greater detail below. Other sensors can also be employed bythe electronic control circuit 16 to monitor the health of the powerpack 12.

Further to the above, the electronic control circuit 16 includes amicrocontroller 28 (“controller”) that is operably coupled to sensors15, as illustrated in FIG. 21. In certain instances, the controller 28may include a microprocessor 30 (“processor”) and one or more computerreadable mediums or memory units 32 (“memory”). In certain instances,the memory 32 may store various program instructions, which whenexecuted may cause the processor 30 to perform a plurality of functionsand/or calculations described herein such as, for example, one or moreof the steps of the method 9 depicted in FIG. 20. In certain instances,the memory 32 may be coupled to the processor 30, for example. Thebattery cells 14 can be configured to supply power to the controller 28,the sensors 15, and/or other components of the electronic controlcircuit 16, for example. Furthermore, the controller 28 can be incommunication with a main controller 29 in the surgical instrument 10,as illustrated in FIG. 21, which can also be powered by the batterycells 14 through the connectors 19.

The controller 28 and/or other controllers of the present disclosure maybe implemented using integrated and/or discrete hardware elements,software elements, and/or a combination of both. Examples of integratedhardware elements may include processors, microprocessors,microcontrollers, integrated circuits, ASICs, PLDs, DSPs, FPGAs, logicgates, registers, semiconductor devices, chips, microchips, chip sets,microcontrollers, SoC, and/or SIP. Examples of discrete hardwareelements may include circuits and/or circuit elements such as logicgates, field effect transistors, bipolar transistors, resistors,capacitors, inductors, and/or relays. In certain instances, thecontroller 28 may include a hybrid circuit comprising discrete andintegrated circuit elements or components on one or more substrates, forexample.

In certain instances, the controller 28 and/or other controllers of thepresent disclosure may be an LM 4F230H5QR, available from TexasInstruments, for example. In certain instances, the Texas InstrumentsLM4F230H5QR is an ARM Cortex-M4F Processor Core comprising on-chipmemory of 256 KB single-cycle flash memory, or other non-volatilememory, up to 40 MHz, a prefetch buffer to improve performance above 40MHz, a 32 KB single-cycle SRAM, internal ROM loaded with StellarisWare®software, 2 KB EEPROM, one or more PWM modules, one or more QEI analog,one or more 12-bit ADC with 12 analog input channels, among otherfeatures that are readily available. Other microcontrollers may bereadily substituted for use with the present disclosure. Accordingly,the present disclosure should not be limited in this context.

In various instances, one or more of the various steps described hereincan be performed by a finite state machine comprising either acombinational logic circuit or a sequential logic circuit, where eitherthe combinational logic circuit or the sequential logic circuit iscoupled to at least one memory circuit. The at least one memory circuitstores a current state of the finite state machine. The combinational orsequential logic circuit is configured to cause the finite state machineto the steps. The sequential logic circuit may be synchronous orasynchronous. In other instances, one or more of the various stepsdescribed herein can be performed by a circuit that includes acombination of the processor 30 and the finite state machine, forexample.

Referring to FIG. 21, the electronic control circuit 16 may furtherinclude a boost converter 36. As illustrated in FIG. 21, the batterycells 14 are coupled to the voltage converter or a boost converter 36.The processor 30 can be configured to employ the boost converter 36 toprovide a boosted voltage or step-up the voltage to maintain a minimumvoltage sufficient to complete a firing sequence in the event it isdetermined that one or more of the battery cells 14 is damaged orcompromised during operation of the surgical instrument 10.

In at least one instance, as illustrated in FIG. 21, the processor 30can be configured to respond to a determination that one or more of thebattery cells 14 are compromised by employing a feedback system 34 toissue an alert to a user of the surgical instrument 100. In certaininstances, the feedback system 34 may comprise one or more visualfeedback systems such as display screens, backlights, and/or LEDs, forexample. In certain instances, the feedback system 34 may comprise oneor more audio feedback systems such as speakers and/or buzzers, forexample. In certain instances, the feedback system 34 may comprise oneor more haptic feedback systems, for example. In certain instances, thefeedback system 34 may comprise combinations of visual, audio, and/orhaptic feedback systems, for example.

In at least one instance, the processor 30 is configured to respond to adetermination that one or more of the battery cells 14 are compromisedby storing or recording a damaged status of the power pack 12 in thememory 32. A damaged status of the power pack 12 can also be stored in amemory 54 of a main controller 29 within the surgical instrument 40. Theprocessor 30 of the controller 28 of the power pack 12 can be incommunication with the processor 52 of the main controller 29 to reportto the main controller 29 the damaged status of the power pack 12. Inresponse to a determination that one or more of the battery cells 14 arecompromised, the processor 52 of the main controller 29 can beconfigured to reset the firing sequence by causing the drive assembly360 to return to an original or starting position, for example.Alternatively, in certain instances, the processor 52 can be configuredto reroute power from non-essential systems of the surgical instrument40 to ensure completion of the firing sequence in the event of adetermination that one or more of the battery cells 14 are compromisedduring the firing sequence. Examples of non-essential systems mayinclude backlit liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and/or Light-emittingdiode (LED) indicators. After completion of the firing sequence, theprocessor 52 of the main controller 29 can be configured to cause thesurgical instrument 40 to be deactivated until the damaged power pack 12is replaced with an undamaged power pack, for example.

Referring to FIG. 22, the step 13 of monitoring the health of the powerpack 12 may include monitoring an output voltage of the battery cells14. In such instances, the sensors 15 may include a voltage sensor whichcan be arranged in parallel with the battery cells 14. The voltagesensor can be configured to sample the output voltage of the batterycells 14 during the firing sequence of the surgical instrument 10.Additional voltage readings can be obtained prior to activation of thefiring sequence and/or after completion of the firing sequence. Theprocessor 30 can be configured to receive the voltage readings of thevoltage sensor, and compare the readings to a predetermined voltagethreshold (vt) that can be stored in the memory 32. In the event of avoltage reading, or an average of a plurality of voltage readings, thatreaches and/or falls below the predetermined voltage threshold (vt), theprocessor 30 may conclude that one or more of the battery cells 14 arecompromised or damaged. In response, the processor 30 can be configuredactivate one or more of the safety and/or operational measures describedabove.

Referring to FIG. 23, the step 13 of monitoring the health of the powerpack 12 may include monitoring the current draw from the battery cells14. In such instances, the sensors 15 may include a current sensor whichcan be arranged in series with the battery cells 14. The current sensorcan be configured to sample the current draw from the battery cells 14during the firing sequence of the surgical instrument 10. Additionalcurrent readings can be obtained prior to activation of the firingsequence and/or after completion of the firing sequence. The processor30 can be configured to receive the current readings of the currentsensor and compare the readings to a predetermined current threshold(It) that can be stored in the memory 32. In the event of a currentreading, or an average of a plurality of current readings, that reachesand/or falls below the predetermined current threshold (It), theprocessor 30 may conclude that one or more of the battery cells 14 arecompromised or damaged. In response, the processor 30 can be configuredto activate one or more of the safety and/or operational measuresdescribed above.

Referring to FIG. 24, the step 13 of monitoring the health of the powerpack 12 may include monitoring a temperature of the battery cells 14. Insuch instances, the sensors 15 may include one or more temperaturesensors which can be positioned inside the power pack 12 in closeproximity to the battery cells 14. The temperature sensors can beconfigured to sample the temperature of the battery cells 14 during thefiring sequence of the surgical instrument 100. Additional temperaturereadings can be obtained prior to activation of the firing sequenceand/or after completion of the firing sequence. The processor 30 can beconfigured to receive the temperature readings of the temperature sensorand compare the readings to a predetermined temperature threshold (Tt)that can be stored in the memory 32. In the event of a temperaturereading, or an average of a plurality of temperature readings, thatreaches and/or exceeds the predetermined temperature threshold (Tt), theprocessor 30 may conclude that one or more of the battery cells 14 arecompromised or damaged. In response, the processor 30 can be configuredto activate one or more of the safety and/or operational measuresdescribed above.

Referring to FIG. 25, a surgical instrument 40 is similar in manyrespects to the surgical instruments 10 and 100. The surgical instrument40 includes a power pack 42, which is similar in many respects to thepower pack 12. In addition, the power pack 42 includes an insulationchamber 44 that houses the battery cells 14. The insulation chamber 44includes an insulation wall 46 that is configured to resist heattransfer between the inside and the outside of the insulation chamber44. The insulation chamber 44 also houses one or more temperaturesensors 24 that are configured to sample an internal temperature insidethe insulation chamber 44 during the firing sequence of the surgicalinstrument 40. Additional temperature sensors 24′ are positioned outsidethe insulation chamber 44 to sample an external temperature outside theinsulation chamber 44 during the firing sequence of the surgicalinstrument 40.

The processor 30 is configured to receive the external and internaltemperature readings of the temperature sensors 24′ and 24,respectively. In addition, the processor 30 is configured to apply analgorithm, which can be stored in the memory 32, to quantitativelycompare the received external and internal temperature readings. In theevent an internal temperature reading, or an average of a plurality ofinternal temperature readings, exceeds a simultaneously taken externaltemperature reading, or an average of a plurality of externaltemperature readings, by a predetermined temperature threshold (Tt),which can be stored in the memory 32, the processor 30 may conclude thatone or more of the battery cells 14 are compromised or damaged. Inresponse, the processor 30 can be configured to activate one or more ofthe safety and/or operational measures described above.

In certain instances, the internal temperature sensors 24 and theexternal temperature sensors 24′ of the surgical instrument 40 can bearranged in a Wheatstone bridge circuit 48, as illustrated in FIG. 26. Avoltage sensor 22 can be employed to measure the voltage across theWheatstone bridge circuit 48. The processor 30 can be configured toreceive the voltage readings of the voltage sensor 22. In the event of avoltage reading, or an average of a plurality of voltage readings, thatreaches and/or exceeds a predetermined voltage threshold (vt), theprocessor 30 may conclude that one or more of the battery cells 14 arecompromised or damaged. In response, the processor 30 can be configuredactivate one or more of the safety and/or operational measures describedabove.

In the aspect illustrated in FIG. 27, the electronic control circuit 16includes a voltage sensor 22, a temperature sensor 24, and a currentsensor 26 which cooperate to monitor the health status of the power pack12. The voltage sensor 22 can be configured to monitor an output voltageof the battery cells 14 while the current sensor 26 and the temperaturesensor 24 simultaneously measure a current draw from the battery cells14 and a temperature of the battery cells 14, respectively. In at leastone instance, the processor 30 is configured to receive readings fromthe voltage sensor 22, the temperature sensor 24, and the current sensor26 during the firing sequence of the surgical instrument 10. Additionalreadings can also be obtained prior to activation of the firing sequenceand/or after completion of the firing sequence.

FIG. 28 is a logic diagram for assessing the health status of a powerpack based on the sensor readings, according to at least one aspect ofthe present disclosure. Referring to FIG. 28, further to the above, theprocessor 30 is configured to apply an algorithm 50, which can be storedin the memory 32, to assess the health status of the power pack 12 basedon the readings obtained from the voltage sensor 22, the temperaturesensor 24, and the current sensor 26. First, the processor 30 isconfigured to determine whether the voltage reading received from thevoltage sensor 22 reaches or falls below a predetermined voltagethreshold (Vt) stored in the memory 32. Second, if the processor 30determines that the voltage reading reaches or falls below thepredetermined voltage threshold (Vt), the processor 30 is configured tofurther determine whether the current reading received from the currentsensor 26 reaches or falls below the predetermined current threshold(It) stored in the memory 32. Third, if the processor 30 determines thatthe current reading reaches or falls below the predetermined currentthreshold (It), the processor 30 is further configured to determinewhether the temperature reading received from the temperature sensor 24reaches or exceeds the predetermined temperature threshold (Tt) storedin the memory 32. If any of the three conditions is not met, theprocessor 30 may continue to monitor the health of the power pack 12.However, if all of the three conditions are met, the processor 30 mayconclude that one or more of the battery cells 14 are compromised ordamaged. In response, the processor 30 can be configured to activate oneor more of the safety and/or operational measures described above. In atleast one instance, if two of the three conditions are met the processor30 may conclude that one or more of the battery cells 14 are compromisedor damaged.

While various details have been set forth in the foregoing description,it will be appreciated that the various aspects of the mechanisms forcompensating for battery pack failure in powered surgical instrumentsmay be practiced without these specific details. For example, forconciseness and clarity selected aspects have been shown in blockdiagram form rather than in detail. Some portions of the detaileddescriptions provided herein may be presented in terms of instructionsthat operate on data that is stored in a computer memory. Suchdescriptions and representations are used by those skilled in the art todescribe and convey the substance of their work to others skilled in theart. In general, an algorithm refers to a self-consistent sequence ofsteps leading to a desired result, where a “step” refers to amanipulation of physical quantities which may, though need notnecessarily, take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable ofbeing stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwisemanipulated. It is common usage to refer to these signals as bits,values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like.These and similar terms may be associated with the appropriate physicalquantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities.

Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the foregoingdiscussion, it is appreciated that, throughout the foregoingdescription, discussions using terms such as “processing” or “computing”or “calculating” or “determining” or “displaying” or the like, refer tothe action and processes of a computer system, or similar electroniccomputing device, that manipulates and transforms data represented asphysical (electronic) quantities within the computer system's registersand memories into other data similarly represented as physicalquantities within the computer system memories or registers or othersuch information storage, transmission or display devices.

It is worthy to note that any reference to “one aspect” or “an aspect,”means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic describedin connection with the aspect is included in at least one aspect. Thus,appearances of the phrases “in one aspect” or “in an aspect” in variousplaces throughout the specification are not necessarily all referring tothe same aspect. Furthermore, the particular features, structures orcharacteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or moreaspects.

Although various aspects have been described herein, many modifications,variations, substitutions, changes, and equivalents to those aspects maybe implemented and will occur to those skilled in the art. Also, wherematerials are disclosed for certain components, other materials may beused. It is therefore to be understood that the foregoing descriptionand the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications andvariations as falling within the scope of the disclosed aspects. Thefollowing claims are intended to cover all such modification andvariations.

Some or all of the aspects described herein may generally comprisetechnologies for mechanisms for compensating for battery pack failure inpowered surgical instruments, or otherwise according to technologiesdescribed herein. In a general sense, those skilled in the art willrecognize that the various aspects described herein which can beimplemented, individually and/or collectively, by a wide range ofhardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof can be viewedas being composed of various types of “electrical circuitry.”Consequently, as used herein “electrical circuitry” includes, but is notlimited to, electrical circuitry having at least one discrete electricalcircuit, electrical circuitry having at least one integrated circuit,electrical circuitry having at least one application specific integratedcircuit, electrical circuitry forming a general purpose computing deviceconfigured by a computer program (e.g., a general purpose computerconfigured by a computer program which at least partially carries outprocesses and/or devices described herein, or a microprocessorconfigured by a computer program which at least partially carries outprocesses and/or devices described herein), electrical circuitry forminga memory device (e.g., forms of random access memory), and/or electricalcircuitry forming a communications device (e.g., a modem, communicationsswitch, or optical-electrical equipment). Those having skill in the artwill recognize that the subject matter described herein may beimplemented in an analog or digital fashion or some combination thereof.

The foregoing detailed description has set forth various aspects of thedevices and/or processes via the use of block diagrams, flowcharts,and/or examples. Insofar as such block diagrams, flowcharts, and/orexamples contain one or more functions and/or operations, it will beunderstood by those within the art that each function and/or operationwithin such block diagrams, flowcharts, or examples can be implemented,individually and/or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software,firmware, or virtually any combination thereof. In one aspect, severalportions of the subject matter described herein may be implemented viaApplication Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field ProgrammableGate Arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs), or otherintegrated formats. Those skilled in the art will recognize, however,that some aspects of the aspects disclosed herein, in whole or in part,can be equivalently implemented in integrated circuits, as one or morecomputer programs running on one or more computers (e.g., as one or moreprograms running on one or more computer systems), as one or moreprograms running on one or more processors (e.g., as one or moreprograms running on one or more microprocessors), as firmware, or asvirtually any combination thereof, and that designing the circuitryand/or writing the code for the software and or firmware would be wellwithin the skill of one of skill in the art in light of this disclosure.In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that themechanisms of the subject matter described herein are capable of beingdistributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that anillustrative aspect of the subject matter described herein appliesregardless of the particular type of signal bearing medium used toactually carry out the distribution. Examples of a signal bearing mediuminclude, but are not limited to, the following: a recordable type mediumsuch as a floppy disk, a hard disk drive, a Compact Disc (CD), a DigitalVideo Disk (DVD), a digital tape, a computer memory, etc.; and atransmission type medium such as a digital and/or an analogcommunication medium (e.g., a fiber optic cable, a waveguide, a wiredcommunications link, a wireless communication link (e.g., transmitter,receiver, transmission logic, reception logic, etc.), etc.).

All of the above-mentioned U.S. patents, U.S. patent applicationpublications, U.S. patent applications, foreign patents, foreign patentapplications, non-patent publications referred to in this specificationand/or listed in any Application Data Sheet, or any other disclosurematerial are incorporated herein by reference, to the extent notinconsistent herewith. As such, and to the extent necessary, thedisclosure as explicitly set forth herein supersedes any conflictingmaterial incorporated herein by reference. Any material, or portionthereof, that is said to be incorporated by reference herein, but whichconflicts with existing definitions, statements, or other disclosurematerial set forth herein will only be incorporated to the extent thatno conflict arises between that incorporated material and the existingdisclosure material.

One skilled in the art will recognize that the herein describedcomponents (e.g., operations), devices, objects, and the discussionaccompanying them are used as examples for the sake of conceptualclarity and that various configuration modifications are contemplated.Consequently, as used herein, the specific exemplars set forth and theaccompanying discussion are intended to be representative of their moregeneral classes. In general, use of any specific exemplar is intended tobe representative of its class, and the non-inclusion of specificcomponents (e.g., operations), devices, and objects should not be takenlimiting.

With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singularterms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from theplural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as isappropriate to the context and/or application. The varioussingular/plural permutations are not expressly set forth herein for sakeof clarity.

The herein described subject matter sometimes illustrates differentcomponents contained within, or connected with, different othercomponents. It is to be understood that such depicted architectures aremerely exemplary, and that in fact many other architectures may beimplemented which achieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense,any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality iseffectively “associated” such that the desired functionality isachieved. Hence, any two components herein combined to achieve aparticular functionality can be seen as “associated with” each othersuch that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective ofarchitectures or intermedial components. Likewise, any two components soassociated can also be viewed as being “operably connected,” or“operably coupled,” to each other to achieve the desired functionality,and any two components capable of being so associated can also be viewedas being “operably couplable,” to each other to achieve the desiredfunctionality. Specific examples of operably couplable include but arenot limited to physically mateable and/or physically interactingcomponents, and/or wirelessly interactable, and/or wirelesslyinteracting components, and/or logically interacting, and/or logicallyinteractable components.

Some aspects may be described using the expression “coupled” and“connected” along with their derivatives. It should be understood thatthese terms are not intended as synonyms for each other. For example,some aspects may be described using the term “connected” to indicatethat two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contactwith each other. In another example, some aspects may be described usingthe term “coupled” to indicate that two or more elements are in directphysical or electrical contact. The term “coupled,” however, also maymean that two or more elements are not in direct contact with eachother, but yet still co-operate or interact with each other.

In some instances, one or more components may be referred to herein as“configured to,” “configurable to,” “operable/operative to,”“adapted/adaptable,” “able to,” “conformable/conformed to,” etc. Thoseskilled in the art will recognize that “configured to” can generallyencompass active-state components and/or inactive-state componentsand/or standby-state components, unless context requires otherwise.

While particular aspects of the subject matter described herein havebeen shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in theart that, based upon the teachings herein, changes and modifications maybe made without departing from the subject matter described herein andits broader aspects and, therefore, the appended claims are to encompasswithin their scope all such changes and modifications as are within thetrue spirit and scope of the subject matter described herein. It will beunderstood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein,and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appendedclaims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term“including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” theterm “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term“includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,”etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if aspecific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such anintent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence ofsuch recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid tounderstanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of theintroductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claimrecitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed toimply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinitearticles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing suchintroduced claim recitation to claims containing only one suchrecitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases“one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or“an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “atleast one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use ofdefinite articles used to introduce claim recitations.

In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitationis explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that suchrecitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recitednumber (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without othermodifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or morerecitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a conventionanalogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in generalsuch a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the artwould understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one ofA, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have Aalone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and Ctogether, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances where aconvention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, ingeneral such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill inthe art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at leastone of A, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that haveA alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and Ctogether, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be furtherunderstood by those within the art that typically a disjunctive wordand/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in thedescription, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplatethe possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, orboth terms unless context dictates otherwise. For example, the phrase “Aor B” will be typically understood to include the possibilities of “A”or “B” or “A and B.”

With respect to the appended claims, those skilled in the art willappreciate that recited operations therein may generally be performed inany order. Also, although various operational flows are presented in asequence(s), it should be understood that the various operations may beperformed in other orders than those which are illustrated, or may beperformed concurrently. Examples of such alternate orderings may includeoverlapping, interleaved, interrupted, reordered, incremental,preparatory, supplemental, simultaneous, reverse, or other variantorderings, unless context dictates otherwise. Furthermore, terms like“responsive to,” “related to,” or other past-tense adjectives aregenerally not intended to exclude such variants, unless context dictatesotherwise.

In certain cases, use of a system or method may occur in a territoryeven if components are located outside the territory. For example, in adistributed computing context, use of a distributed computing system mayoccur in a territory even though parts of the system may be locatedoutside of the territory (e.g., relay, server, processor, signal-bearingmedium, transmitting computer, receiving computer, etc. located outsidethe territory).

A sale of a system or method may likewise occur in a territory even ifcomponents of the system or method are located and/or used outside theterritory. Further, implementation of at least part of a system forperforming a method in one territory does not preclude use of the systemin another territory.

Although various aspects have been described herein, many modifications,variations, substitutions, changes, and equivalents to those aspects maybe implemented and will occur to those skilled in the art. Also, wherematerials are disclosed for certain components, other materials may beused. It is therefore to be understood that the foregoing descriptionand the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications andvariations as falling within the scope of the disclosed aspects. Thefollowing claims are intended to cover all such modification andvariations.

In summary, numerous benefits have been described which result fromemploying the concepts described herein. The foregoing description ofthe one or more aspects has been presented for purposes of illustrationand description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or limiting to theprecise form disclosed. Modifications or variations are possible inlight of the above teachings. The one or more aspects were chosen anddescribed in order to illustrate principles and practical application tothereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the variousaspects and with various modifications as are suited to the particularuse contemplated. It is intended that the claims submitted herewithdefine the overall scope.

Various aspects of the subject matter described herein are set out inthe following numbered clauses:

1. A surgical instrument, comprising: a jaw assembly, comprising: astaple cartridge including a plurality of staples; and an anvil, whereinat least one of the staple cartridge and the anvil is movable relativeto the other one of the staple cartridge and the anvil to capture tissuetherebetween; a firing assembly configured to deploy the plurality ofstaples into the captured tissue during a firing sequence; and a handle,comprising: an electric motor operably coupled to the firing assembly,wherein the electric motor is configured to generate at least onerotational motion to motivate the firing assembly to deploy theplurality of staples into the captured tissue during the firingsequence; and a power pack separably couplable to the handle, whereinthe power pack comprises: a plurality of rechargeable battery cellsconfigured to power the electric motor; at least one battery-cell healthindicator; and an electronic control circuit configured to assesswhether a subset of the plurality of rechargeable battery cells isdamaged during the firing sequence based on at least one measurementperformed by the at least one battery-cell health indicator.

2. The surgical instrument of Clause 1, further comprising a voltageconverter, wherein the electronic control circuit is configured toemploy the voltage convertor to step-up an output voltage of the batterypack to complete the firing sequence in response to a determination thata subset of the plurality of rechargeable battery cells is damaged.

3. The surgical instrument of any one of Clauses 1-2, further comprisinga memory, wherein the electronic control circuit is configured to storea damaged status of the power pack in the memory in response to adetermination that a subset of the plurality of rechargeable batterycells is damaged.

4. The surgical instrument of Clause 3, wherein the damaged status iscleared after the damaged subset of the plurality of rechargeablebattery cells is replaced with undamaged battery cells.

5. The surgical instrument of any one of Clauses 1-4, wherein theelectronic control circuit is configured to deactivate the surgicalinstrument after completion of the firing sequence in response to adetermination that a subset of the plurality of rechargeable batterycells is damaged.

6. The surgical instrument of Clause 5, wherein the surgical instrumentis reactivated after replacing the power pack with an undamaged powerpack.

7. The surgical instrument of any one of Clauses 1-6, further comprisinga feedback indicator, wherein the electronic control circuit isconfigured to employ the feedback indicator to issue an alert inresponse to a determination that a subset of the plurality ofrechargeable battery cells is damaged.

8. A surgical instrument, comprising: a jaw assembly, comprising: astaple cartridge including a plurality of staples; and an anvil, whereinat least one of the staple cartridge and the anvil is movable relativeto the other one of the staple cartridge and the anvil to capture tissuetherebetween; a firing assembly configured to deploy the plurality ofstaples into the captured tissue during a firing sequence; and a handle,comprising: an electric motor operably coupled to the firing assembly,wherein the electric motor is configured to generate at least onerotational motion to motivate the firing assembly to deploy theplurality of staples into the captured tissue during the firingsequence; and a power pack separably couplable to the handle, whereinthe power pack comprises: a plurality of rechargeable battery cellsconfigured to power the electric motor; at least one temperature sensorconfigured to take at least one temperature reading of the power packduring the firing sequence; and an electronic control circuit incommunication with the at least one temperature sensor, wherein theelectronic control circuit is configured to step up an output voltage ofthe power pack during the firing sequence in response to a determinationthat the at least one temperature reading exceeds a predetermined value.

9. The surgical instrument of Clause 8, wherein the electronic controlcircuit comprises a memory, and wherein the electronic control circuitis configured to store the predetermined value in the memory.

10. The surgical instrument of any one of Clauses 8-9, furthercomprising a memory, wherein the electronic control circuit isconfigured to store a damaged status of the power pack in the memory inresponse to the determination that the at least one temperature readingexceeds the predetermined value.

11. The surgical instrument of Clause 10, wherein the damaged status iscleared after the damaged subset of the plurality of rechargeablebattery cells is replaced with undamaged battery cells.

12. The surgical instrument of any one of Clauses 8-11, wherein theelectronic control circuit is configured to deactivate the surgicalinstrument after completion of the firing sequence in response to thedetermination that the at least one temperature reading exceeds thepredetermined value.

13. The surgical instrument of Clause 12, wherein the surgicalinstrument is reactivated after replacing the power pack with anundamaged power pack.

14. The surgical instrument of any one of Clauses 8-13, furthercomprising a feedback indicator, wherein the electronic control circuitis configured to employ the feedback indicator to issue an alert inresponse to the determination that the at least one temperature readingexceeds the predetermined value.

15. A surgical instrument, comprising: a jaw assembly, comprising: astaple cartridge including a plurality of staples; and an anvil, whereinat least one of the staple cartridge and the anvil is movable relativeto the other one of the staple cartridge and the anvil to capture tissuetherebetween; a firing assembly configured to deploy the plurality ofstaples into the captured tissue during a firing sequence; and a handle,comprising: an electric motor operably coupled to the firing assembly,wherein the electric motor is configured to generate at least onerotational motion to motivate the firing assembly to deploy theplurality of staples into the captured tissue during the firingsequence; and a power pack separably coupled to the handle, wherein thepower pack comprises: a plurality of rechargeable battery cellsconfigured to power the electric motor; a voltage sensor configured totake at least one voltage reading of an output voltage of the power packduring the firing sequence; and an electronic control circuit incommunication with the voltage sensor, wherein the electronic controlcircuit is configured to step up the output voltage of the power packduring the firing sequence in response to a determination that the atleast one voltage reading is below a predetermined value.

16. The surgical instrument of Clause 15, wherein the electronic controlcircuit comprises a memory, and wherein the electronic control circuitis configured to store the predetermined value in the memory.

17. The surgical instrument of any one of Clauses 15-16, furthercomprising a memory, wherein the electronic control circuit isconfigured to store a damaged status of the power pack in the memorysequence in response to the determination that the at least one voltagereading exceeds the predetermined value.

18. The surgical instrument of Clause 17, wherein the damaged status iscleared after the damaged subset of the plurality of rechargeablebattery cells is replaced with undamaged battery cells.

19. The surgical instrument of any one of Clauses 15-18, wherein theelectronic control circuit is configured to deactivate the surgicalinstrument after completion of the firing sequence in response to thedetermination that the at least one voltage reading exceeds thepredetermined value.

20. The surgical instrument of Clause 19, wherein the surgicalinstrument is reactivated after replacing the power pack with anundamaged power pack.

21. The surgical instrument of any one of Clauses 15-20, furthercomprising a feedback indicator, wherein the electronic control circuitis configured to employ the feedback indicator to issue an alert inresponse to the determination that the at least one voltage readingexceeds the predetermined value.

What is claimed is:
 1. A surgical instrument, comprising: a jawassembly, comprising: a staple cartridge including a plurality ofstaples; and an anvil, wherein at least one of the staple cartridge andthe anvil is movable relative to the other one of the staple cartridgeand the anvil to capture tissue therebetween; a firing assemblyconfigured to deploy the plurality of staples into the captured tissueduring a firing sequence; and a handle, comprising: an electric motoroperably coupled to the firing assembly, wherein the electric motor isconfigured to generate at least one rotational motion to motivate thefiring assembly to deploy the plurality of staples into the capturedtissue during the firing sequence; and a power pack separably couplableto the handle, wherein the power pack comprises: a plurality ofrechargeable battery cells configured to power the electric motor; atleast one battery-cell health indicator; and an electronic controlcircuit configured to assess whether a subset of the plurality ofrechargeable battery cells is damaged during the firing sequence basedon at least one measurement performed by the at least one battery-cellhealth indicator.
 2. The surgical instrument of claim 1, furthercomprising a voltage converter, wherein the electronic control circuitis configured to employ the voltage convertor to step-up an outputvoltage of the battery pack to complete the firing sequence in responseto a determination that a subset of the plurality of rechargeablebattery cells is damaged.
 3. The surgical instrument of claim 1, furthercomprising a memory, wherein the electronic control circuit isconfigured to store a damaged status of the power pack in the memory inresponse to a determination that a subset of the plurality ofrechargeable battery cells is damaged.
 4. The surgical instrument ofclaim 3, wherein the damaged status is cleared after the damaged subsetof the plurality of rechargeable battery cells is replaced withundamaged battery cells.
 5. The surgical instrument of claim 1, whereinthe electronic control circuit is configured to deactivate the surgicalinstrument after completion of the firing sequence in response to adetermination that a subset of the plurality of rechargeable batterycells is damaged.
 6. The surgical instrument of claim 5, wherein thesurgical instrument is reactivated after replacing the power pack withan undamaged power pack.
 7. The surgical instrument of claim 1, furthercomprising a feedback indicator, wherein the electronic control circuitis configured to employ the feedback indicator to issue an alert inresponse to a determination that a subset of the plurality ofrechargeable battery cells is damaged.
 8. A surgical instrument,comprising: a jaw assembly, comprising: a staple cartridge including aplurality of staples; and an anvil, wherein at least one of the staplecartridge and the anvil is movable relative to the other one of thestaple cartridge and the anvil to capture tissue therebetween; a firingassembly configured to deploy the plurality of staples into the capturedtissue during a firing sequence; and a handle, comprising: an electricmotor operably coupled to the firing assembly, wherein the electricmotor is configured to generate at least one rotational motion tomotivate the firing assembly to deploy the plurality of staples into thecaptured tissue during the firing sequence; and a power pack separablycouplable to the handle, wherein the power pack comprises: a pluralityof rechargeable battery cells configured to power the electric motor; atleast one temperature sensor configured to take at least one temperaturereading of the power pack during the firing sequence; and an electroniccontrol circuit in communication with the at least one temperaturesensor, wherein the electronic control circuit is configured to step upan output voltage of the power pack during the firing sequence inresponse to a determination that the at least one temperature readingexceeds a predetermined value.
 9. The surgical instrument of claim 8,wherein the electronic control circuit comprises a memory, and whereinthe electronic control circuit is configured to store the predeterminedvalue in the memory.
 10. The surgical instrument of claim 8, furthercomprising a memory, wherein the electronic control circuit isconfigured to store a damaged status of the power pack in the memory inresponse to the determination that the at least one temperature readingexceeds the predetermined value.
 11. The surgical instrument of claim10, wherein the damaged status is cleared after the damaged subset ofthe plurality of rechargeable battery cells is replaced with undamagedbattery cells.
 12. The surgical instrument of claim 8, wherein theelectronic control circuit is configured to deactivate the surgicalinstrument after completion of the firing sequence in response to thedetermination that the at least one temperature reading exceeds thepredetermined value.
 13. The surgical instrument of claim 12, whereinthe surgical instrument is reactivated after replacing the power packwith an undamaged power pack.
 14. The surgical instrument of claim 8,further comprising a feedback indicator, wherein the electronic controlcircuit is configured to employ the feedback indicator to issue an alertin response to the determination that the at least one temperaturereading exceeds the predetermined value.
 15. A surgical instrument,comprising: a jaw assembly, comprising: a staple cartridge including aplurality of staples; and an anvil, wherein at least one of the staplecartridge and the anvil is movable relative to the other one of thestaple cartridge and the anvil to capture tissue therebetween; a firingassembly configured to deploy the plurality of staples into the capturedtissue during a firing sequence; and a handle, comprising: an electricmotor operably coupled to the firing assembly, wherein the electricmotor is configured to generate at least one rotational motion tomotivate the firing assembly to deploy the plurality of staples into thecaptured tissue during the firing sequence; and a power pack separablycoupled to the handle, wherein the power pack comprises: a plurality ofrechargeable battery cells configured to power the electric motor; avoltage sensor configured to take at least one voltage reading of anoutput voltage of the power pack during the firing sequence; and anelectronic control circuit in communication with the voltage sensor,wherein the electronic control circuit is configured to step up theoutput voltage of the power pack during the firing sequence in responseto a determination that the at least one voltage reading is below apredetermined value.
 16. The surgical instrument of claim 15, whereinthe electronic control circuit comprises a memory, and wherein theelectronic control circuit is configured to store the predeterminedvalue in the memory.
 17. The surgical instrument of claim 15, furthercomprising a memory, wherein the electronic control circuit isconfigured to store a damaged status of the power pack in the memorysequence in response to the determination that the at least one voltagereading exceeds the predetermined value.
 18. The surgical instrument ofclaim 17, wherein the damaged status is cleared after the damaged subsetof the plurality of rechargeable battery cells is replaced withundamaged battery cells.
 19. The surgical instrument of claim 15,wherein the electronic control circuit is configured to deactivate thesurgical instrument after completion of the firing sequence in responseto the determination that the at least one voltage reading exceeds thepredetermined value.
 20. The surgical instrument of claim 19, whereinthe surgical instrument is reactivated after replacing the power packwith an undamaged power pack.
 21. The surgical instrument of claim 15,further comprising a feedback indicator, wherein the electronic controlcircuit is configured to employ the feedback indicator to issue an alertin response to the determination that the at least one voltage readingexceeds the predetermined value.